Warpaint play biggest headline gig yet at Shockwaves NME Awards Show

Warpaint played their biggest headline show yet last night (February 21) at London‘s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire – as part of the Shockwaves NME Awards Shows.

The four-piece had admitted to NME before the show that they were feeling a little nervous. Still, Australian drummer Stella Mozgawa added that she had found a novel way to prepare.

“We walked in and saw the venue today and suddenly we knew what was in store, so that was mildly terrifying!” she said. “There’s a Walkabout bar next door, so I was thinking I might have to pop in there before the show.”

The band changed their usual set especially for the show, playing fan-favourite ‘Shadows’ for the first time properly as well as a host of other rarely-played tracks.

Mozgawa said they had tried ‘Shadows’ once before, though they “messed it up because we hadn’t rehearsed it”. However, the band seemed pleased with their performance of the song on the night, which also saw them play ‘Bees’, ‘Composure’ and ‘Undertow’.

Guitarist/vocalist Theresa Wayman swapped instruments with Mozgawa on two occasions, while bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg was frequently assisted the drummer by playing percussion alongside her. All four members of the group shared vocals on early favourite ‘Billy Holiday’, taken from their debut EP ‘Exquisite Corpse’.

Speaking of the band’s plans following the show, Mozgawa explained that they are now set to begin writing the follow-up to 2010 debut album ‘The Fool’.

“We’re just about to start writing again, because it’s been pretty intense touring,” she said. “We’re going to make some time to record again. We’re all writing at the moment, but not necessarily together – we’ll be endeavouring to do that in the next few months.”

The band are set to attend the Shockwaves NME Awards ceremony at the O2 Academy Brixton tomorrow night.

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